Kevin Duffy: UConn has little to gain playing BC

Updated 12:50 am, Friday, November 22, 2013

NEW YORK -- A rivalry that had vanished for eight years was renewed Thursday night, and on its deciding play, that ball hung on the rim for an eternity.

It would eventually spin out, of course, resulting in two Olivier Hanlan free throws rather than a game-tying three-point play. Uncharacteristically, Shabazz Napier would miss a pair of free throws down the stretch, leaving the door open for BC. And Ryan Boatright would slam it, rejecting a last-second heave by Eagles guard Lonnie Jackson.

Crisis averted.

Yes, this would have qualified as a one-night crisis, losing to a team that had already been beaten by UMass, Providence and Toledo. And that's precisely why the UConn-BC rivalry should remain a thing of the past.

Look, Boston College has lots to gain from making this an annual thing. UConn stands to gain very little. It's not 1997 anymore. Best case for the Huskies: They beat a power conference team that won't make the NCAA tournament, a middle-of-the-pack program in New England, let alone its own loaded league. Worst case: What almost happened Thursday night, if not for some timely defense and exceptional ball control (the Huskies committed just three turnovers).

"I usually tell the guys that if we're under 10 (turnovers), the coaches are running sprints," UConn coach Kevin Ollie joked.

A loss to Boston College would have been put Ollie in a totally different mood. These Eagles are 1-4 and they're still a month away from starting the most brutal league schedule in the country. A loss to these Eagles wouldn't look good. I'll go out on a limb and say a loss to the Eagles in 2014 or 2016 or 2017 won't look good, either. And a win against them looks, well, whatever.

So tell me: What's the point in scheduling them?

As things got a little tense for his liking, Ollie could exhale at the podium, smiling as he said, "It's like an old BC-UConn rivalry coming down to the last possession." "I told the guys, `without struggle, there is no progress,'" Ollie continued. "Tonight we had a struggle."

You remember plenty of struggles in the Big East. You probably remember quite a few between UConn and BC. You'll remember Thursday as a free throw contest. Boston College, hardly impressive otherwise, made an amazing 24 straight free throws after missing its first. UConn was 25-for-29, converting just enough to let Ollie smile.

"I have good memories against BC," he said. "I wanted to keep my record intact." Ollie suited up from 1991-95, when this game had some semblance of a rivalry. Ollie was 8-0, winning one in overtime, another in double OT and a handful by single digits. Only twice did Ollie's Huskies comfortably take down Boston College.

Only once in Ollie's career did the Eagles qualify for the NCAA tournament.

So, yes, much has changed in the landscape of college athletics, but I'm afraid the dynamic between two of New England's biggest sports schools has not.

UConn should be about 15 points better than BC today. If the Huskies hadn't missed more second half layups than they made, they probably would have been.

"We weren't knocking down shots, as you can tell," said Shabazz Napier, a Boston native. "We had seven assists." Asked Wednesday about his thoughts on the rivalry, Napier didn't have many. And trust me, it isn't easy to find a subject on which Napier lacks an opinion. But the fact is, he was 13 years old when UConn and BC last clashed. To him, Marquette was a greater rival than Boston College.

He's too young to remember Jim Calhoun's vow on 2003 Big East media day that he would never schedule BC again. He was a sophomore in college, fresh off the 2011 national championship, when Boston College's former athletic director, Gene DeFilippo, admitted to the Boston Globe that his school blocked the Huskies from the ACC.

"We didn't want them in," DeFillipo told The Globe. "It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team." Well, here's how New England's team has fared lately: In the past four years, it has lost to Providence (twice), UMass (twice), Harvard (twice), Boston University, Holy Cross, Rhode Island, Yale, and Bryant. Isn't that pretty much every team in New England? Oh, and BC needed overtime to beat New Hampshire last season.

So there's that.

Boston College coach Steve Donahue told reporters this week "We really want to play each other...it makes a whole lot of sense." Ollie has said all the right things. Even Calhoun seems to be on board.

UConn athletic director Warde Manuel said Thursday: "There's nothing that is in the works at this present time, but we're leaving the door open. We have a great relationship. We have great respect for BC and what they've done. The past is behind us and we're moving forward."

If I'm Manuel, I'm moving forward toward Syracuse, Pitt, Georgetown and about 50 other schools ahead of BC. While UConn hangs in the AAC, non-conference schedule will be crucial. Boston College, eager to make a "We rule New England!" statement, won't be of much help to the Huskies.

As Manuel said, the past is behind UConn. Perhaps the future will someday involve BC -- as a conference opponent.

Or maybe the Huskies will renew their storied history with Rutgers in the Big 10. UConn fans can only hope.